


Day 3: Santa's Helper

by Louis_the_Snake



Series: 25 Days of Christmas on DS9 [3]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Bashir is babysitting Molly, Garak is santa's helper, I took the prompt very loosely here, M/M, Molly is too smart for a five year old, again christmas on a Bajoran space station why, mention of Garak's past and skills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louis_the_Snake/pseuds/Louis_the_Snake
Summary: Bashir is saddled with babysitting Molly while Miles and Keiko go retrieve unique plants for the arboretum. Santa happens to be passing through the sation for the day and Bashir takes it upon himself to show Molly the Old Saint. Molly finds a different "jolly old man" more interesting.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Series: 25 Days of Christmas on DS9 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037097
Kudos: 27





	Day 3: Santa's Helper

Standing in line for Santa was exhausting, but Bashir felt responsible for ensuring Molly met the reenactor.  
He was not usually trusted with O’Brian’s daughter and the Santa was only on the station for a day before he went down to Bajor to entertain.  
Keiko and Miles had to go retrieve a live pine to add to the arboretum, a real earth pine from a nursery in a nearby system. 

Julian was watching Molly. So far, it had been a nice day. Molly was cute and sweet and whip smart, every bit Keiko’s little scientist and Miles’ tiny engineer.  
She enjoyed the medbay lights and asking questions about the simple procedures she sat in on (with patient’s permission, and nothing that could worry her parents).  
She looked into Nog’s ear canal with him and asked what could infect ears. She saw Jadiza’s vitals in her check-up, and asked to see Dax. (To avoid any chance of discomfort for the symbiont, they used one of the med scanners to observe him moving rather than peeking into Jadiza’s pouch). She’d thought that was hilarious and waved at Dax on the monitor. 

Molly couldn’t spend all day in sickbay, though, because she had to meet the santa. Bashir remembered meeting Santa when he was young.  
(Of course, he’d seen through the false beard immediately, but this reenactor had grown his own beard for the part).  
In the line, there were only a few families. There weren’t many aboard, as it was, since nearly everyone had moved off-station out of fear of attack, but a few brave bajorans remained with their children and Nog had never seen Santa.  
Beside the line, Garak had set up on the table of the replimat with a very fancy red coat with white fur trim and gold embellishments, inspecting the garment. 

“Why doctor, I wasn’t aware you had a little sister aboard.”  
“Come now, Garak, I’m not that young! This is Molly O’Brian, Molly this is Garak. He’s the tailor here. I’m not sure you’ve ever met, have you?”  
Molly shook her head and inspected the big grey man as he smiled at her.  
“He’s funny-looking.”  
“He is, isn’t he?” Bashir scooped her up to get her closer to eye-level with his friend, “He’s a Cardassian. They’re all bumpy.”  
“I’d argue that you are unnaturally smooth, my dear doctor. I find you humans to be very funny-looking, I must confess.” Garak gently took Molly’s hand and squeezed.  
Molly laughed and shook his hand.  
“Are you fixing Santa’s coat, there?”  
“Oh, yes, the poor man claims he fell from his sleigh and tore a nasty hole in the bottom. It’s a simple fix, but it is a rush job since he’s headed out so soon. I must apologize for the short greeting, Molly dear, but I have to get back to work.”  
Molly waved and laughed at Garak’s salutatory grin. 

Julian did not stop hearing about Mr.Garak, mender of cloaks, for the rest of the day. He’d expected Molly to talk about meeting Santa, but no, she was quite taken with the sneaky spy, who had been surprisingly good with interacting with children.  
Molly drew Garak in her crayon doodles, working with Santa to give gifts from planet to planet. She drew him holding Julian’s hand as they walked somewhere with evergreen trees. She talked about his silly smile and his funny eyes.  
Honestly, he hoped she’d get over Garak by the time Miles came back. Miles had a bad history with cardassians, it could bother him if his daughter wanted to befriend the only one on the station. Keiko wouldn’t mind much, though she’d be rightfully suspicious of Garak from the first, not on the basis of his race, but on his past.  
Bashir really hadn’t meant to introduce them, just greet Garak from line, but Molly insisted that she wanted to see Garak again sometime. 

“Garak, will you be able to have dinner with Molly and I at the replimat today or will that tear keep you busy?” Bashir stopped by the shop while Nurse Lena watched Molly for a few moments.  
“I can take a few minutes out of my repairs to meet with you, doctor, that shouldn’t be a problem. Is there any reason for the last minute arrangements?”  
“Molly finds you interesting, it seems.”  
“Perhaps it’s something you have in common.”  
Bashir rolled his eyes.  
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Garak, she’s just five. She’s bound to be curious about everything.”  
“And you’re just, what is it now, twenty nine?”  
“Don’t remind me. I’ll see you at 1800 hours, alright?”  
“Of course, doctor.” 

Bashir picked out a nice meal for Molly and replicated it up, including some pudding for her dessert, and waited for Garak at their usual lunch table.  
“Doctor Bashir! Miss Molly, I’m sorry I’m late, I wanted to tie off a few loose threads before I arrived.”  
“Mr.Garak!” Molly kicked her feet out excitedly.  
“You’re fine Garak, we just got here ourselves. Molly’s been talking about you all day.”  
“All good things, I hope?” Garak turned to Molly conspiratorially and opened his eyes wider.  
“Of course!”  
“You’ll have to tell me what you’ve told the doctor that he didn’t already know, dear, I’m afraid you’ve let all my secrets out!”  
Molly laughed.  
“I think she quite told me every secret she knows about you, Garak, and many more besides.”  
“Well we can’t have that, can we?”  
It seemed Molly enjoyed the two men chattering about secrets as long as she felt she knew some of them herself, and they ate companionably.  
Garak was better with kids than Julian had thought, talking her into eating the replicated vegetables that no one, not even most adults, liked. He’d told stories and entertained Molly with gestures and looks like an expert teacher might. His little looks and smiles let Molly feel like she was in on some grand joke no one else knew but she and Garak. Bashir knew the feeling, though he’d never felt like he actually knew what the joke was, just that Garak assumed he did.  
It was all very domestic. Bashir could let his mind wander some from being ready to entertain Molly all day, thinking about the many things he hadn’t had time for. It landed on Garak quickly. Garak had to have worked with children in the past, and not just tortured them like some of his stories suggested. Maybe he’d been a teacher, or cared for a younger sibling in his youth.  
Garak would be a good dad.  
Bashir’s thoughts surprised him.  
Garak would be a great parent. He was manipulative, sure, but he knew how to get people to understand what he wanted them to know without ever having to tell them or order them to learn. He could make someone feel like the center of the galaxy without flattering them at all, instead just by giving them sincere attention and implying adoration under layers of subtext.  
Garak would be a good dad, it seemed, and Bashir wanted to see him raise his children. Garak didn’t even have children-or maybe he did, and Bashir just didn’t know it yet- but Bashir wanted to help him raise his children. That was an even weirder thought than the first!  
Bashir could keep a child healthy and fit and teach them facts and figures and show them sports, but he was no where near prepared to be a father. Garak could teach people how to be people. Of course, he could also teach them how to lie, cheat, torture, sneak, and kill, but he would also teach -when- that was appropriate to do.  
Julian wanted to have children with Garak. It was so silly he laughed out loud.  
Molly looked confused. Garak looked amused.  
“What’s caught your fancy, doctor?”  
“I’m sorry- I thought of a joke.”  
“Care to share?” Garak looked to Molly who turned to mime him.  
“What’s the joke, Doc?”  
“I’m sorry- I don’t know how to tell it properly, I’ll have to explain it later.” Bashir smiled.  
“Ah, no matter, humor is- as always- difficult to translate, I’m sure.” 

They wrapped up dinner with dessert of puddings and said their goodbyes. Molly was returned, sleeping, to the arms of Keiko after another hour or two in sickbay. Bashir went home for the night and changed into his sleepwear.  
He laughed to himself once again as he imagined adopting a Cardassian child or two and raising them with the local tailor, a man he wasn’t even sure wanted to be anything more than a contact.  
They’d be an odd family, to say the least.  
But Bashir couldn’t shake the feeling that he could be happy that way.


End file.
